The three-part project is still in the infant stages, but the first portion — the research of African-American businesses in Walnut Hills — is already finished.

Next, local artist Janet Creekmore will paint murals based on submitted stories of the neighborhood's African-American community. The murals will be painted on storefronts on the corner of Lincoln and Gilbert avenues.

Lincoln was once a prominent area for African-American shops but has been abandoned due to the expansion of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

“If you look at development all around Cincinnati, all around the world, there's always a historical preservation committee or something and often times, African-American communities are left out of the equation,” says Aprina Johnson, community outreach coordinator for the WHRF.

By helping to preserve the African-American culture, the Lincoln Art Project will help add African-Americans back into the equation.

“There's value there; there's worth there — I want people to see that,” Johnson says.

The third part of the project is to continuously have art-related events in the area that demonstrate African-American culture.

“Most of the children that go to school in Walnut Hills are African-American, so to have that place where they can go and see and interact with art rather than a plaque or book is really exciting,” says Johnson. “They don't have to think about things, they see it and say ‘Oh I'm here, it's real so I can actually follow in these people's footsteps. I can actually do this.’”

Many of the people in the community, as well as outside of the community, are in favor of the project.

The project will revamp the cosmetic look of the Lincoln and Gilbert intersection and bring people of all races from all over Cincinnati to the neighborhood.

“Sometimes it's like people don't want to shop in a black community,” says Johnson. “They'd rather shop in another community and once this all blossoms, this will be a business district where people of all races and nations and belief systems will come and find it valuable.”

Natalya Daoud is a freelance journalist who has been writing professionally since 2014. She's a Cincinnati native and has a B.A. in journalism from the University of Cincinnati. She loves music and is a huge Bengals fan.